Runaway Train
by CharmingWhitelighter
Summary: Paige gets overwhelmed by 'witchly duties' and bolts. When she meets Gabe and Will, things get better. But will she return home before something bad happens?
1. Runaway Train

She was restless. Tired of the secrets, the lies. And now she was done. She left a note, packed a bag and got the hell out of there. She hoped they wouldn't be pissed. _Of course they will be _she thought. _They're precious Power of Three will no longer exist_. She shook her head. _Unless, Miss Patty "Sleep with every man I meet" Halliwell had another kid with someone else. Maybe a demon this time._ She immediately regretted this. Her mom had nothing to do with this. It was about her sisters, Leo; everyone involved in their magical mess. Everything was screwed up. It had been fine until Prue died. She hadn't been bothered with magic. She didn't really have to be a witch. It was a choice, and her choice was to get rid of it. She had taken a binding potion so they couldn't trace her magically. But now that she thought about it, she really didn't have anywhere to go. She sighed and turned on the radio. Soul Asylum was playing. It was the song Runaway Train. It was one of her favorite songs, and now she felt like she was going to cry. She pulled over onto the side of the road and sang along softly with the music.

Call you up in the middle of the night

Like a firefly without a light

You were there like a blowtorch burning

I was a key that could use a little turning

So tired that I couldn't even sleep

So many secrets I couldn't keep

I promised myself I wouldn't weep

One more promise I couldn't keep

It seems no one can help me now

I'm in too deep; there's no way out

This time I have really led myself astray

Runaway train, never coming back

Wrong way on a one way track

Seems like is should be getting somewhere

But somehow I'm neither here nor there

Can you help me remember how to smile?

Make it somehow all seem worthwhile

How in earth did I get so jaded?

Life's a mystery seems so faded

I can go where no one else can go

I can know what no one else can know

Here I am just a-drowning in the rain

With a ticket for a runaway train

And everything seems cut and dried

Day and night, earth and sky

Somehow I just don't believe it

Runaway train, never coming back

Wrong way on a one way track

Seems like is should be getting somewhere

But somehow I'm neither here nor there

Bought a ticket for a runway train

Like a madman laughing at the rain

A little out of touch, a little insane

It's just easier than dealing with the pain

Runaway train, never coming back

Wrong way on a one way track

Seems like is should be getting somewhere

But somehow I'm neither here nor there

Runaway train, never coming back

Runaway train, tearing up the track

Runaway train, burning in my veins

I run away but it always seems the same

The song ended gracefully and she switched off the radio. Pulling out her cell phone, she debated with herself. Did she dare call? Was it worth the risk? Deciding against her instincts, she hit 3 on her phone. The Manor was on speed dial and it automatically dialed while she cursed her self under her breath. _Hang up the damn phone_ she said over and over to herself as she listened to the ring. She was about to hang up, when suddenly the phone was picked up at the other end. It was a voice she had needed to hear.

"Hello?" Her sister asked. "Is anyone there?"

_Of course I'm here,_ she thought to herself. She listened to her sister ask again who was on the other line. Then a different voice came over the line.

"Hello? Who's there?" Leo yelled. "Whoever you are, say something or I'm hanging up." Again, she heard the phone being passed over to someone else, and this time, a third voice was heard.

"Really, who is this?" Her other sister said, distress clear in her voice.

She gathered all her courage, and breathed deeply. The person on the other end heard the deep inhale and listened intently.

"After a while, you'll learn the difference between holding hands and falling in love. You'll begin to learn that kisses don't always mean something and promises can be broken as soon as they are made and sometimes, good-byes really are forever." She whispered. The other end was silent, and after a couple of seconds she slowly closed the phone, breaking her connection to her sisters – forever.

On the other end, at the Manor, Phoebe pulled the phone away from her ear in shock. She quickly replaced it.

"Paige? Is that you? PAIGE?" Phoebe yelled, hoping for anything.


	2. First Encounter

Paige drove for a couple of hours, then finally got off the highway. Driving through the small town, she spotted a small grocery store. She parked and fished a five-dollar bill out of the glove compartment. She entered the store and looked around. It had that look to it. So did the town. The "Everyone knows everything about everyone" look. _All right, a bit freaky, but I can deal with it. _She said to herself. Grabbing a coke, a bag of chips, and a couple of packs of gum, she headed towards the checkout line.

"Hello. Welcome to Lakeview convenient and grocery store." The clerk looked up at Paige. He looked about the same age as Paige. He opened his mouth to say something else, but it didn't come out. After a couple of seconds, he regained composure and started to ring up her items.

"Are you new to Lakeview, or just passing through?" He asked, shaking his light brown hair out of his flashing green eyes.

"What makes you think that I haven't lived here my whole life?" She asked, letting a smile escape. He saw her smile and flashed one back at her.

"Trust me. I know everyone here. Lived here my whole life. You, Miss…?"He asked, waiting for her to fill in the blank.

"Matthews. But you can call me Paige." She responded as she loaded her items into the little grocery bags that had the Lakeview logo on them.

"Well Paige, you must have just drove through here. Or are you intending on staying?" He voice was filled with hope that she would remain in this one horse town.

"I just might stay." She replied, causing him to smile even more. He lifted the grocery bag out of her hands and signaled to another worker, a young boy, to cover his register.

"I just don't know where to stay." Paige said.

They were outside now. He pointed across the street. Paige turned around, expecting to see a hotel. But she didn't. It was a house with a sign out front. The huge wooden sign said: "REAL ESTATE."

Paige laughed. Then she looked at him. "Why are you carrying that?" She asked. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy it, but she was curious why he was doing it.

"Company policy. But I'd do it for you anyway." He replied.

They had reached her car. "Thanks for the help. By the way, I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't tell you." He responded, flashing her another smile. _God, that's such a cute smile_ she thought.

Suddenly, he asked her a question. "Not dating are you?" She was startled.

"No. How did you…" She was amazed, and her face showed it.

He laughed at her expression and then explained himself.

"No guy with half a brain would let you walk into a grocery store alone. Either he'd do it, or he'd come with you. It's a guy thing. Us men think we have to protect our women." As he said this last part, he flexed his muscles, causing her to laugh out loud. He pretended to look hurt.

"So. Tell me about this place." She said, as she jumped up and sat on the hood of her car. "What's it like?"

"It can't be much different from your town." He said. Paige shook her head.

"I lived in San Francisco." She said as his mouth dropped open in amazement.

"As in San Francisco California?" He asked dumbfounded.

"Yea." She said in reply.

Then he went on to explain the whole place. As people walked by, he told her what he knew. About an hour later, a young girl came running out of the store.

"Hey loser!" She yelled loudly, running in the direction of Paige. The girl, who looked no older than 18 hit her companion in the back of the head. He immediately turned around.

"Kait." He protested.

"Oh man. Dad's going to kill you." Kait said. That got his attention.

"Why?" Suddenly, he looked like a little boy who broke his mom's favorite vase. Paige held in a laugh.

"No one could find you." Kait said. Finally she noticed Paige. "Oh. I'm sorry. My name's Kait, but you probably knew that already. My brother must like you though."

He turned red, but Paige asked the question that both of them were going to ask. "Why do you think that?" She asked slyly.

"Duh. It's obvious. Will would never leave his job for an hour. He must really like you." Kait replied as Will's hand shot out and tapped her lightly across the back of the head. She chuckled at his lame attempt.

"William Tucker Hastings!" A loud voice boomed from the entrance of the grocery store. A man with a white settan hat was stalking out of the store accompanied by a pretty woman. Both of them looked like Will and Kait. The man stood in front of Will and stared him down.

"Where have you been?" He asked threateningly.

"Right here. I was helping Paige with her grocery's." Will answered. It seemed to Paige like it would fly as an excuse, but then the man, obviously Will's father, noticed Paige's bag on the hood of the car. The contents were eaten and the empty soda bottle was clutched in Will's hand.

"Oh really. How long ago was that?" Will's dad asked.

Paige stepped in. "I'm sorry Mr. Hastings. It was all my fault."

Mr. Hastings turned to face Paige and his expression softened. "And what's your name?" He asked chuckling slightly.

"Paige Matthews sir." She replied courageously.

"Well Miss. Paige. I cannot blame you for my son's lack of responsibility."

"Really sir. It was my fault. I just arrived in town and I was thinking of staying and I was just asking about the town." Paige explained.

"Well in that case," Mr. Hastings said. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Tucker Andrew Hastings. Everyone call me Tuck though. I own Lakeview convenient and grocery store. This is my wife Amanda." He said making reference to himself and the woman hanging onto his arm. He continued. "You say you're staying in Lakeview?"

Paige nodded her head. "Yes sir."

Tuck chuckled. "Cut the sir crap. Are you staying anywhere tonight?" He asked her.

"No sir. I mean, no. I haven't found anywhere yet." She replied, slightly embarrassed. Tuck threw his arm around her shoulder.

"Well Miss. Paige, you can stay with us." Paige started to protest but her interrupted her. "I won't take 'No' for an answer. What else are you going to do? It's almost dinner time, and the only thing you have to sleep in is this car." He looked at her lime green buggy. "Frankly, I don't know how you could sit in that thing." Paige laughed. Tuck wasn't fat; in fact he was very skinny. But he was a giant. Paige pictured him trying to fold his body to fit in the small car, and she had to stifle a laugh.

"Let's go gang." Tuck yelled as the last streetlight flicked on. A closed sign hung on the front door of the store, and Tuck opened it, holding it for everyone. First Amanda went, followed by Kait. Tuck noticed that Will and Paige had held back, so he went inside, giving them privacy.

"Well, it looks like you're staying with us." Will said. He couldn't think of anything else to say. Paige went to open her mouth when her cell phone rang. She looked at it and recognized the number. She let it ring.

"Are you going to get that?" Will asked.

Paige shook her head. "Nope." Then she though about it. "Will you answer it?"

Will looked at her funny, but reluctantly took the phone and flipped it open.

"Hello?" He asked.

He held it away from his ear. Paige laughed. She realized that Will had probably never used a cellphone before and it was loud.

"Hello? Who is this?" Piper's voice seeped through the speaker.

"Um Will. Who's this?" Will asked.

"Piper. Is Paige… Why the hell are you on her cell phone?" Piper barked.

"Because. Why are you calling her?" Will retaliated.

"Because. Is she there?" Piper asked, impatience straining in her voice.

Will looked up at Paige. Paige shook her, trying to say that she wasn't around. Thankfully, Will got the message.

"Sorry. Can I take a message?" Will asked.

Piper sighed. "Just tell her…Tell her it's her sister Piper. Phoebe and I want her to come home. We miss her and we love her. Just let her know that we…" Piper's voice choked, as if she was crying. "…We love her so much. Whatever we did wrong, we'll work on it. I promise. We just miss her. I miss her. Tell her that I know I haven't been the best sister on the planet, but I'm working on it. I love her, just tell her that."

Paige was holding the phone, and now tears started to form in her eyes. She thought Piper hated her, but she was…wrong.

"Piper?" Paige whispered into the phone. Piper heard it.

"Paige? Are you there?" Piper asked excitedly.

"I'm sorry Piper." And Paige hung up the phone.

Will looked at her quizzically. "Want to tell me what that was about?"

"Maybe over dinner…If your lucky." Paige replied over her shoulder as she raced inside the store. Rain had started to fall and Will just stood there. _Man is that girl amazing_ he thought as he chased after her.


	3. Discovery

Piper stared at the phone in shock. She had heard Paige. But who the hell was Will? Phoebe walked into the kitchen as Piper shook her head and placed the phone back on the cradle.

"Whatcha doing?" Phoebe asked, helping herself to a plate of cooling cookies that Piper had just pulled out of the oven. When Piper didn't respond, Phoebe asked again.

"I tried to call." Piper said, almost in a whisper. Phoebe walked up to her and wrapped her arms around Piper.

"Oh sweetie. It's all right. She'll come back soon. I know she will." Phoebe said as she kissed her sister on the forehead.

Just then, a demon shimmered in. Piper took one look at it and blew him up. She turned to Phoebe.

"They've been coming all morning." She said.

"Do you think they know the Power of Three has been separated?" Phoebe asked. Piper shrugged her shoulders as Leo came walking in the room, a notebook in his hand.

"What's that honey?" Piper asked. Leo just handed it to her.

Phoebe stood over Piper's shoulder as they flipped through the pages. It was like a mini Book of Shadows. It had information on demons that weren't in the Book already. Piper and Phoebe flipped back to the beginning and they gasped. Now Leo came over and saw what they were looking at. He gasped too. It was inscription in the notebook, dated March 3rd 2001. That was the day before Prue died. It was a short poem in Prue's writing.

"Watching you grow up

I smile when I see

The people that I love

Who you've grown up to be

Life is short, I know

I live each day my best

But life just seems better

When I have you to help

Even when I'm gone

I will still be there

In your hearts and in your dreams

Keep me in your prayers

Don't give up to fast

Hold on until the end

Because you never know

What's around the bend

My dear sisters

I love you so much

I love your smile and your laugh

I love your hugs and your touch

When I am gone

Promise me this

That you will be strong

And that you'll always wish

That I was near you

But I will be

A part of you

Like you are a part of me"

Piper was in shock. It was like Prue knew what was going to happen. It amazed her. She felt a tear fall on her shoulder and looked up into Phoebe's wet eyes. Piper turned the page again and found another inscription. This time, it was Paige's writing.

"Dear Piper and Phoebe. After I moved in, I was trying to reorganize my room and I came across this diary type of notebook. It was wedged under the mattress. It belonged to Prue. At first I didn't know if I should show it to you. You were still getting over Prue and I didn't want you to draw away from me. It's a little selfish, I know. But I really wanted you to like me for me, not as someone who was here to 'replace' Prue. I decided to do what Prue did. I wrote you a poem (It took me forever). I also added to the notebook, with present day demons.

'When I gave up looking

That's when I found you

You were right there in front of me

And I knew just what to do

You guys were my guardian angels

Who helped me through the times

When I could not stand up myself

When I was sick you didn't mind

Every tear and heartbreak

You were there to kiss away

When my world was dark and dismal

You made it a better day

Every smile and every joy

You were there behind

You never thought of yourself

You gave up all your time

My friend, now I am gone

But not in your heart

You still make my life go around

And nights no longer dark."

Piper closed the notebook and placed it on the table. Another piece of paper fell out, but she didn't notice it. Phoebe hugged her and rocked her. She whispered to her that it was all right, Paige would be home soon. Leo picked up the piece of paper on the floor and handed it to the girls. Then he quietly excused himself and walked out of the room. His son Wyatt orbed into his arms and hugged his daddy. Leo smiled and returned the hug. Wyatt orbed again, this time to the kitchen. He spotted the paper and crawled over to his mom, clutching the paper. Piper smiled and sat Wyatt down on her lap. She saw the paper and pried it gently from his sticky hands. Opening it she realized it was a poem she had written and read at Prue's funeral. She read it to herself.

"Every day that passes

Is another day without you

I'm alone and scared

I don't know what to do

I'll try to be strong

And face the pain

I may fall down

But you'll help me up again

I'll hold it together

I'll do it for you

It might fall apart

But you'll help me through

I won't cry now

That's not what you want

And I promised myself

I'll try really hard

Each day that passes

Is another day without you?

But each day that passes

Is a day closer to you"

Piper smiled as she realized that poem could also be for Paige. She picked up Wyatt and walked with Phoebe into the living room. They talked about everything that happened, and cried themselves to sleep. They didn't notice when Paige, who's temporary binding potion wore off, orbed into the room. Paige kissed them on the cheek and looked at them once more. Then she orbed out; promising herself that she was leaving them behind. Forever.


End file.
